You're Still Our Big Brother
by DragonKin Myrna
Summary: After Leo makes a deal with the Shredder to save his family his brothers decided its time to bring their brother home. Once he is found they are shocked by the amount of trauma he had suffered at the hands of the Shredder. Will the three brothers be able to heal their oldest sibling, or is he broken for good? Chapters are now being updated but the going is slow so bear with me.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, this is a plot bunny that would not go away. I hope you all enjoy and please Rate and Review :)**

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You're Still Our Big Brother

Raph sat on his bed with his knee's pulled up to his chest with his arms resting on them, a heavy sigh filled with emotion escaped his lips as the familiar sting of tears built up once again. Dipping his head into his arms Raph allowed the tears to flow, small hot, salty rivulets coursed down his face as the normally aggressive turtle sobbed into his arms. After a good five minutes the sobbing stopped and Raph raised his head to rub at his eyes, he paused briefly when a photo on his wall caught his eye. It was one of a small collection that he secretly had taped on his wall. One was of all four them when they were little all curled up in a green heap in a pile of pillows. Another was of him giving Mikey a shell back ride when they were eight. There were others of course, him and Leo arguing, Leo holding him back from pummeling Mikey who turned his shell pink, and many others like them.

The one that held his attention however was the picture of when he and Leo had finally mastered their blades, in the photo Leo had one arm over Raph's shoulders with Raph doing the same to Leo. The young leader had on a relaxed confident smile as he pointed his Katana at the camera almost in a cocky dare, Raph held his Sai in a loose but confident defensive position and was also grinning like his brother. The emerald eyed turtle couldn't help a smile that crossed his face at that memory. Master Splinter had told them that if they could not master the wooden replicas of the blades by the end of the week then they would not receive their weapons. Naturally Raph had been very angry after being told that and had sulked for an entire day, Leo had been the opposite. He had immediately set about training with the wooden swords and would be in the dojo for hours upon end. Raph had eventually joined him but did not train nearly as much as Leo had, in the end that he been a wise choice because Leo had exhausted himself almost to the point of collapsing.

What no one else knew is that Leo had collapsed. Raph had found him an hour after everyone had fallen asleep one night. He was in the dojo lying on the floor on his plastron with his face turned away from his brother. Raph had been about to leave thinking he was asleep when he had heard the ragged, hitched breathing of his brother. Worry formed a knot in his stomach and he had quietly trotted over to Leo.

**~Flash Back~**

"Leo, you ok?" Raph asked. Leo gave no impression that he'd heard his brother, kneeling down beside Leo Raph placed a careful hand on his shell. His bright green eyes widened when he felt Leo flinch under his hand, "What's wrong Leo?" he coaxed trying to be gentle.

"You were right." Leo mumbled tucking his face into the floor.

"Um…about what?" Raph asked feeling confused.

"I'm never going to be able to master the Katanas." Raph swore he heard a small sob. He winced remembering how he'd scoffed at Leo when he'd said he'd wanted to use two blades instead of one.

"Yeah, well I, umm…I didn't really mean that Leo. It just seemed impossible at the time ya know?" Raph said trying to cheer up his brother.

"It is impossible." Leo muttered darkly.

"No it's not! Remember when you finally did a round house kick with both of the wooden sword? That's when I stopped saying it was impossible because you showed me that it was possible." Raph said rubbing Leo's shell. Leo turned his head and met Raph's gaze. Deep blue eyes met blazing green ones and almost instantly an idea sparked in both of their heads.

"Will you help me with my weapons?" they asked in unison. They shared an embarrassed laugh before going to bed, only to attack their training like a pair of dragons the next day. Leo would help Raph on his form and Raph would help Leo get over his fear of losing form and putting force behind his movements. By the end of the week Leo and Raph had officially mastered their wooden weapons, their mastery was so complete that there was almost no difference in the way they moved with the actual blades for the first time.

**End of Flashback~ **

Raph smiled at the memory but his smile quickly disappeared at the thought of Leo. Getting up he slowly shuffled out of his room and looked around the lair, it was unnaturally quiet. Mikey was laying on the couch next to Donnie with one arm hanging off the side, his normally cheerful smile was gone. Donnie sat beside him with one hand on his little brothers shell the other on his lap top, a look of determination on his face mixed with some anger that only deepened when his hand brushed against the white bandages on Mikey's right shoulder. Raph winced at Donnie's expression but stayed silent as he walked over and sat on the other side of the genius.

"I still haven't found anything." Donnie muttered in a grouchy voice.

"It's ok, he's really hard to track is all." Raph said quietly.

"Tch, more like doesn't want to be found." Donnie ground out. Raph looked at Donnie with pained green eyes, "What? You know I'm right."

"No you're not! He is just moving around a lot so that they won't get suspicious or anything but he wants to come home and-" Raph yelled.

"Leo attacked Mikey Raph! Or had you forgotten that?" Donnie yelled back glaring at his immediate big brother. Raph fell silent and stared at the floor.

"I do remember Donnie, but I think you forgot that shortly after that a fully prepared medical kit showed up outside the lair just as we got home. And I am pretty sure that was not a 'welcome home' gift from the Shredder." Raph countered.

"Yeah I do remember. That kit was so incredibly organized a three year old could have used it. Everything from the antiseptic wipes down to the-" Donnie trailed off. A look of hope blossomed in his eyes. The purple masked turtle began typing furiously on his laptop.

"Donnie?" Raph asked slowly.

"The medical supplies! Of course! I am an idiot!" Donnie growled. Raph starred at his brother in confusion, "There is only one place that they would have come from since they were organized like that!" Donnie explained.

"And that is?" Raph asked.

"New-York Presbyterian university hospital of Columbia and Cornell, it's supposed to be the number one hospital in the city." Donnie said bringing up the information page on said hospital.

"Interesting Donnie, but how does this help even a little bit?" Mikey asked sullenly.

"Because I know only one person willing to break in there and get medical supplies for this family." Donnie stated. Raph turned and looked at Donnie with wide eyes, Mikey gave a small gasp before sitting up and looking at Donnie with a tentative question in his bright blue eyes, "Leo is the only one of us who would sneak in there in order to get us the best medical supplies possible, he also has a notorious habit of organizing everything he touches." Donnie said with a grin, "Which means, you were right Raph." Donnie said slowly like it was just now dawning on him. Raph smiled at Donnie.

"Thanks for saying that out loud but I kind of already knew that one genius. I may not know much but I do know my big brother." Raph said proudly.

"Care to explain why he stabbed me then?" Mikey asked rubbing his arm. Raph thought for a moment , then he looked at Mikey with a sad smile.

"He did it to protect you." Raph answered.

"How is stabbing me protecting me?!" Mikey yelled.

"Mikey think about it! The Shredder was standing right there watching him, if Leo hadn't attacked you then Tin Head would have finished us off and then killed Leo after making him watch us die. That is the only way to break Fearless. So in order to keep Shredder from killing us Leo attacked and drew blood from the one source that would convince Shredder that he had abandoned us, you. If he did it to me Shredder would kill us, Donnie? we'd be prisoners for life, you? That is as convincing as it gets because you're the youngest, the one we all protect." Raph explained. Mikey looked like he wanted to cry. Raph got up and went over to sit beside Mikey, the smaller turtle collapsed against his plastron sobbing, "It's ok Mikey."

"No it's not! I said that I hated him and that he was not my big brother anymore! I should have known he was protecting me, he always does!" Mikey wailed. Donnie looked like he was fighting tears to.

"We were all jerks to him Mikey." He said with a crack in his voice.

"Raph wasn't." Mikey muttered.

"Yeah, I was, remember the night he struck that dumb deal?" Mikey and Donnie shivered.

**~Flashback~**

The four turtles and their sensei sat in silence in the steel prison that Shredder had placed them in. Four days ago he had managed to capture them, luring Splinter out with a fake trail that they had all thought to be Karai. All of them were bound, Splinter was on longer chains than the turtles as he was easier to get a hold of due to his larger size. The turtles were smaller and moved much easier and faster than most in small spaces. All five heads jerked up when the door opened and Tiger Claw stepped in.

"Take that one." He growled pointing at Mikey. The orange masked turtle swallowed in fear as foot bots moved towards him, Raph, Donnie, and Splinter shouted threats and strained against their bonds. It was Leo who spoke up.

"Wait!" He had called out.

"Master Shredder said he won't take substitutions." The tiger growled.

"I'm not substituting anything, I want to speak with him, I can give him what he wants." Leo said in a baiting tone. Tiger Claw looked at the blue masked turtle and Leo had met his gaze fiercely. Growling Tiger Claw had taken Leo instead and brought him to the Shredder leaving his stunned family. Two hours went by before the doors had once again opened, only all four were released and shoved out. Raph had snarled at the ninjas asking where his brother was, soft snickers were the only responses he had received. Just as they were about to be thrown out Shredder appeared before them, Raph had seen the triumphant look in his eyes as he starred down at them.

"You may be leaving with your lives freaks, but I have won this time." He said with a chuckle.

"You have not won anything! Leaving us alive only means we get to come after you to kick your metal plated backside all the way to Tokyo!" Raph had roared.

"If you even have the will to do so." Shredder said with a dark glint in his eyes.

"What makes you think we won't?" Splinter had growled, "You still have one of my sons!". Shredder had laughed and snapped his fingers. Out of the shadows behind the Shredder a turtle with leaf green skin and dark blue eyes appeared, he had regarded the others coolly and distantly. Raph had felt his blood turn to ice, standing in front of him covered in foot ninja gear was his big brother, Leo was a foot ninja, "What did you do to him?!" Splinter roared.

"I did nothing, Leonardo came to me of his own free will." Shredder said. He had relished seeing Splinter look so distraught at the sight of his oldest. Leo turn his gaze on Splinter.

"What my Master says is true, I joined him freely. I have no desire to live with you any longer." Leo had said. His voice was cold and detached, Splinter had cried out to him as he turned to walk away, "Good bye Hamato Yoshi." Was all the now black masked turtle had said before they were thrown out.

**~End of Flashback~**

"I had called him a traitor as they threw us out the door." Raph whispered. Tears burning in his eyes, Donnie huddled closer and soon all three were embracing each other trying to give comfort.

"Hey Donnie, why were the medical supplies important? You know, besides letting us know Leo is still Leo?" Mikey asked with a sniffle.

"Leo always included that hospital in his solo patrols, by using the hospitals location 'I can map out the most likely path for him to patrol while still being close to the Shredder." Donnie said quietly.

"Think you could narrow it down to the exact path he takes?" Raph asked softly.

"Not without some kind of tracking unit." Donnie said rubbing his eyes.

"Like the one in our t-phones?".

"Yeah, but I doubt Shredder let him keep his." Donnie muttered darkly.

"What if he didn't have the phone but he did have the tracker?" Raph asked. Donnie jerked his head up and looked at a smiling Raph.

"You didn't?" Donnie asked.

"I did." Raph grinned.

"That was delicate technology." Donnie reminded him.

"I saved everything else." Raph told him.

"Uh guys, I am a little lost here." Mikey said.

"Raph gutted the Leo's t-phone and put the tracker on our way ward brother." Donnie said with a grin of his own. Mikey was wide eyed and silent for a second.

"Raph you are a genius!" Mikey cried wrapping his older brother in a bone crushing hug.

"Mikey I can't breathe!" Raph complained but it was half-hearted. Mikey just laughed and hugged him tighter.

"I'll work on pinpointing Leo." Donnie said with new determination. Leo had been with the Shredder for three months, in four weeks it would be winter and Donnie was determined to have Leo back before the first snowfall.

"Sounds good D, I think I am gonna go make us some dinner!" Mikey crowed. With that he skipped off to the kitchen calling to Ice Cream Kitty to get ready to make the ultimate pizza. Raph watched him go with a smirk, Mikey had not been in the kitchen in a while so it was nice to hear him clanging around in there.

"What are you going to do Raph?" Donnie asked not looking up from his computer.

"Train, I really slacked off and if we're going to get Leo back I need to be one step ahead of the eight ball, not behind it." Raph said heading for the dojo. Donnie sat typing on his computer, pausing when he heard the whispering of Raph's Sai's as he performed a familiar kata. Turning his attention back to his computer Donnie started tracing the tracker from Leo's t-phone, much to his surprise it started transmitting strongly. Much stronger than he'd expected, quickly he traced the transmission and placed all of the data into his phone so that he could track Leo on the run. Sighing in satisfaction Donnie closed his computer and went to go join Raph in the dojo, he needed to train to if they were going to catch Leo. All four brothers were good fighters, Mikey was nearly impossible to pin down in a fight due to his agility, Donnie was able to calculate how his opponents would come after him and he had some of the best reach with his weapon. Raph was the strongest and the most intimidating, a lot of the foot ninja and kraang now ran instead of fighting the red masked turtle. Leo was the most skilled and had the best stamina, being able to out-last his opponents. This was hardly ever necessary for Leo in a fight, his level of ninjutsu, mastery over his blades, and uncanny ability to sense where his opponents were, where they would attack from, and split second strategies were what normally brought down his opponent. He was also the most stealthy, being able to hide anywhere and Donnie meant anywhere. Leo had once hidden in plain sight and all three of his younger brothers had missed him the first two times.

Entering the dojo Donnie began going through kata's with his Bo staff, he watched Raph as he moved through his forms. Even with the slack in training Raph was as deadly and powerful as ever. The two brothers trained until Mikey announced that lunch was ready, true to Mikey form there was a delicious meal of four kinds of homemade pizza waiting for the brothers. Meat lovers, Hawaiian, four cheese, and a mystery pizza that was surprisingly good were gobbled down with gusto. Once the dishes were done all three brothers returned to the dojo to attack their training, Mikey had to be cleared by Donnie first but the orange masked turtle was declared fit and ready and that he would not even have a scar.

Life was returning to the lair, after a long lull in activity things were returning to a somewhat normal state. The three brothers were up every morning for training, ate breakfast, did their chores, took exercise runs in the sewers, ate lunch, trained again, helped Donnie prepare the vehicles and track Leo, train again, eat dinner, and go to sleep. None of them noticed the familiarity of the schedule they had adopted, Leo's schedule. Raph had subconsciously filled the role of leader and big brother, his temper took longer to ignite though he was still prone to chase Mikey after a prank. Donnie had gone back to being the workaholic that he was but with more support from his brothers. Mikey was once again the family's ray of sunshine and source of entertainment, dragging his brothers into the living room for some relaxation when needed, the youngest turtle had also attacked his training with a seriousness previously alien to him. It was safe to say that he was now going to be a serious handful to anyone dumb enough to keep him from finding his brother.

Even with all of this activity Splinter had not left his room, the boys delivered meals to his door every day and they could hear him training from time to time but knew better than to disturb him. They hoped that bringing Leo back would bring their father out of his funk.

It was during an intense training period that fate decided to remind the turtles that once in a while it liked them. It was a melee sparring session or as Raph put it 'ninja eat ninja' battle, Donnie was looking like the uncontested winner this time having already K.O.'d Mikey but Raph was more than ready for his brother. When Donnie struck at him with his staff Raph leaned slightly to the right before seizing the staff, twisting around and using it to launch Donnie across the room winning the match.

"Nice moves buddy, though I can't say I expected anything less from you." A deep gravely voice applauded. All three turtles whipped around weapons drawn to see Slash standing in the doorway to the dojo.

"Slash? What are you doing here?" Raph asked stunned.

"Looking for you three obviously." The bigger turtle chuckled.

"Wait? Did you say all three of us?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah I did, I need help from all three of you." Slash told them.

"You want our help you got it!" Raph exclaimed, "So what do you need?"

"I need your help busting your brother out of the Shredders grip." Slash growled. If the giant turtle did not have their attention before he certainly did now.

"You've seen Leo? Where is he? Is he ok? Does he miss us? Has Shredder hurt him?" Where among the many questions Slash was blasted with.

"Whoa slow down! Yeah, I have seen Leo and yes he misses you guys, a lot." Slash said holding up his hands to shush the smaller turtles, "The poor guy nearly had a melt-down last time I spoke with him, he feels really bad about hurting you the way he did there squirt." Slash said indicating Mikey's arm, "As for the ok part, aw man how can I put this gently? Well, um, aw forget this! No he's not ok, the poor guy is on the verge of a collapse on all levels." Slash growled. Raph and Mikey looked at Donnie when they heard him gasp in fear.

"The kind of collapse Slash is talking about is one that is physical, mental, and emotional. Leo could go catatonic or fall into a coma." Donnie explained.

"We gotta get to him before that happens! Come on!" Mikey shouted. He raced for the door only for Slash to snatch him right off his feet with one burly hand.

"Hold it right there squirt!" the big turtle said holding Mikey as his legs continued to move even though he was suspended in the air.

"Put me down! My big brother needs me and I dare you to try and stop me!" Mikey threatened.

"I like that fight you've got in you, reminds me of Raph here." Slash chuckled jerking his head in Raph's direction, "But I am not going to let you run half-cocked into the Shredders HQ, I barely made it out of there alive and I have Leo to thank for that. If we are going to do this it has to be done right, and with the right kind of back up." Slash told Mikey. The smaller turtle huffed in frustration and folded his arms over his plastron comically.

"And where are we going to get this back up? It's not like we have a whole lot of allies." Donnie groused.

"No sweat, I brought it with me." All of the turtles looked over at the stairs in front of the turnstiles to see a familiar hulking figure.

"Leatherhead!" Mikey exclaimed joyfully. Slash set his down only to have a dust cloud left in his hands as the younger turtle sped over to his giant friend. Mikey launched himself at the giant crocodile who caught him in a friendly hug.

"Michelangelo, it is good to see you again my friend." Leatherhead said in his deep growling voice.

"Dude! I thought you were gone for good! How did you survive? And how did you get back?" Mikey asked crawling onto the crocodiles back and perching there.

"I am not exactly sure. I don't remember much but I do remember seeing your brother with the Kraang and later him directing me to where I could find Slash. He has told me everything and I am truly sorry for what has happened, and what I did." Leatherhead said softly.

"What do you mean?" Donnie asked.

"When I saw Leonardo with the Kraang and wearing foot clan armor I flew into a rage and attacked him. The armor saved his life but I did some damage to his left arm and shoulder." Leatherhead explained sadly.

"It's ok Leatherhead, I am sure Leo will forgive you." Mikey said patting his friend on the head.

"He already did, he told me that he deserved the injury that I gave him." Leatherhead sighed. There was a loud crack and all heads turned to see Raph with his fist against the wall.

"There he goes again, Fearless blaming himself for everything wrong in life." Raph growled, "He probably told you that he deserved it for what he did to Mikey, when Shredder was the one to force his hand and make him do that!" Raph snarled. Slash walked up and put a hand on Raph's shoulder.

"I know you're angry Raph, I think everyone one here is about your brothers situation. But punching wall's ain't going to help, you need to redirect the focus of your anger. Instead of bashing a wall…" Slash let the sentence hang enticingly.

"Let's go bash some kraang and foot bots." Raph finished with a feral grin. Donnie's t-phone rang shrilly sending the purple masked turtle racing for his lab. He was barely in there for a minute when everyone heard him shriek with joy.

"I've got a beat on Leo! And it's strong!" Donnie exclaimed as he raced out of his lab.

"Great lets go." Raph said racing for then lair's entrance.

"Not yet Raph, I need two minutes maybe to prep the Shellraiser." Donnie said darting back towards his lab.

"For what?" Raph asked in exasperation.

"Leo is hurt MeatHead! I'm gonna need to bring medical supplies and my tracking equipment if we are going to find him and bring him home tonight." Donnie said going into Dr. mode. Raph glanced at the clock, it was four in the afternoon. The had till ten o'clock to bring Leo back before Splinter came out of his room for his evening training and notice that they were gone.

"Alright, Mikey you help Donnie with whatever he needs to prep the Shellraiser." Raph said stepping into the leader position again, "Leatherhead, Slash, I am going to need any and all information that you have on Shredders HQ, where we might find Leo, and what we will be going up against. We have six hours to get this done and we are going to do this right." Raph stated. No one argued with the red masked turtle, Donnie and Mikey took off to get everything ready while Raph, Slash, and Leatherhead discussed tactics, battle plans, how to catch Leo, and how they were going to make their getaway. One way or another, Leo was coming home.

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**Chapter one is done hope everyone liked it :) and for those of you who are reading 'Blue Jade Dragon' yes I will be updating that as soon as I can if I can retrieve its file. I hate computer crashes! .***

**-DragonKin**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The actual planning of how to bring Leo home only took a few minutes, Slash and Leatherhead both agreeing that the main priority was to find Leo's location and go from there; as the blue masked turtle tended to be unpredictable when he really wanted to be. With the Shellraiser stocked and ready for any kind of medical catastrophe that they could think of the band of five mutants silently slipped out of the lair, this was accomplished by Leatherhead and Slash lifting the Shellraiser and walking it far enough down the tunnels so that Splinter would not notice them being gone. Once Donnie deemed they were far enough away Slash and Leatherhead set down the vehicle, Slash told the group he would meet them near the Shredders HQ before teleporting to the location. Raph and the others climbed into the Shellraiser and rumbled down the tunnel and on to the streets, the red masked turtle could hear his brothers and Leatherhead discussing possible battle strategies in the back but his mind was elsewhere as he drove on. His thoughts were on Leo, was he ok? Had Shredder gotten suspicious of him and hurt him? Had the Kraang done any kind of experiments on him? Gritting his teeth Raph pressed his foot on gas pedal a little harder feeling some satisfaction in the growling of engines. No matter what Raph was going to get his brother back and that was final.

"Stop in that alley up ahead." Leatherhead growled softly. Raph was a bit surprised at the request but did as he was without argument. If Leo had been there he might have passed out, "We are close enough to Shredders hideout that we can get in quickly but far enough away that he cannot detect us." The alligator explained.

"This is also where Slash said that he would meet us." Mikey said looking at his map. A low hum signaled the arrival of the larger turtle outside followed by a soft hiss. Raph and his younger brothers poked their heads out of the Shellraiser to find Slash and coiled up next to him, Karai!

"Karai!" Donnie exclaimed. He had a small relieved smile on his face.

"No, it iss Miwa now." The lilac serpent hissed softly as she slithered towards them. All three turtles had stepped outside of the Shellraiser and Miwa suddenly wound tight circles around them, tongue flickering rapidly and making soft hissing sounds, "What iss wrong? You are all very tense and upset." Miwa asked softly.

"Miwa does not know what has happened yet but she has agreed to help since we are going after Shredder and she wants to pay him back for what he did to her father. I was wondering if you knew him?" Slash asked.

"Funny story behind that, Miwa is the daughter of our Sensei. Shredder stole her from Splinter when she was a baby." Mikey explained. Miwa hissed angrily at the name of Shredder and bared her fangs.

"Before we go after said payback, Miwa you need to know what's going on." Donnie told her, "A few months ago we were all captured by Shredder, Leo gave himself over to the Shredder in order to protect us." Mikey whimpered and shut his eyes to try and avoid crying, Miwa turned her head in Mikey's direction making a soft sad sound. She carefully slithered over to him and wrapped her coils and arms around him in a comforting hug.

"I am sso ssorry, if I had known I would have tried to help sooner." She whispered then a savage growl rumbled in her throat, "Sshredder will pay!"

"Couldn't agree with you more Sis!" Raph chuckled, "So let's quit talking and start moving, I want to get Leo home as fast as I can."

"Right, here is a map of the patrols of kraang and foot bots." Slash said using some of the tech he had scrounged from the Nuetralizer, "There are two gaps in the patrols on either side of the cathedral."

"We should split into two groups, we'll cover more ground and have a better chance of finding Leo. Also if one group gets spotted the other will have an easier time of dodging Shredders goons." Donnie said starring at the map. There was a collective agreement and the group of six dived into two teams of three, Leatherhead covering Donnie and Mikey while Slash covered Miwa and Raph. Raph lead his team to the right side of the old cathedral just a minute ahead of the time gap, this was the more heavily guarded side of the building and Raph was not going to let his younger brothers get caught again. He also figured that this was closest to where Leo would be.

"There's the gap! Lets go!" Slash growled. The trio bolted towards the unguarded door, Miwa guarding the rear, with her heightened senses she would know sooner than the others when someone was coming. Raph breathed a little bit easier when they made it inside without a hitch, but now was the hard part. Finding Leo was going to be the biggest challenge, Raph would bet his shell that Shredder was keeping him close by. The trio waited a minute for the guards to walk past the shadowed corners where they lay hidden before moving swiftly up the hallway, their progress was fast until they reached the end of the hall. It branched off into three different directions.\

"Great which way do we go?" Raph asked with a growl. He was answered by the ringing of alarms and the signature scream of his youngest brother.

"Not that way!" Mikey screamed as he ran up the hallway on the left. Donnie and Leatherhead where hot on his heals as foot bots chased after them.

"Looks like it's time to split up! Leatherhead you're with me, we'll by you guys time to find your brother." Slash roared. Leatherhead nodded with a feral growl.

"Sure you can handle all of those foot bots?" Donnie asked. Slash winked at him mischievously as Kraang droids appeared in the hallway on the right.

"Hey look, it the KRAANG!" Slash bellowed. Leatherheads eyes glazed over with rage, the mutant gator roared and charged the droids. Shearing off metal limbs with his teeth and claws.

"I think we'll be just fine! Now move it!" Slash growled as he moved to take on the foot bots. Raph shook his head to get rid of the shock of his former pet pulling a stunt of near Mikey stupidity. A hiss from Miwa turned his attention back to racing up the hallway towards where they hoped that they would find Leo. Sticking to the shadows like the ninjas they were the four swiftly made their way towards the Shredders throne room, Miwa was leading them, she knew the way blind folded and upside down. Raph felt his gut clench when the serpent girl froze and hissed angrily, her tail tightening with undisguised rage.

"Miwa?" Donnie asked softly.

"Blood, I am detecting a lot of blood." Miwa hissed in reply.

"Is, is it Leo?" Mikey asked in a shakey whisper. Miwa glanced at the youngest turtle over her shoulder, the sorrow and hatred in her eyes was all Raph needed to confirm that his big brother was somewhere up ahead and badly wounded. Growling the hot headed turtle charged ahead, not really even noticing how easily he slipped by the three mutant goons guarding Shredders chambers. Still staying in the shadows Raph slipped into the chamber, his blood turned to ice and then boiled the next second. Shredder was advancing on a heavily wounded Leonardo who was taking painful steps back while trying to keep from getting cornered or exposing his back.

"After all these months, this is how you repay my sparing your family." Shredder said mockingly. It was a statement more than a it was a question, "I Let them live and then you get them in past my defenses."

"Like I had the time for that between doing your dirty work and those 'training' sessions." Leo bit back. Injured, beyond all levels of exhaustion, and scared out of his mind Leo still was able to make smart remarks at his enemies.

"I grow tired of that mouth of yours turtle. I will take great pleasure in silencing you before I go and hunt down your family." Shredder steel claws on his gauntlets sliding out with a hiss. Leo held up his blades and dropped into a fighting stance, it was one that Raph only seen once and that was during a practice session with Splinter. It only meant one thing, that Leo was not backing down and would be taking the Shredder down with him to ensure the lives of his brothers. Shredder lunged at the black masked turtle and Raph's vision turned red.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Leo could not believe what was happening, one minute he was being beaten into a bloody pulp as he faced down the Shredder. The next Raph was launching out of the shadows howling like a demon and plowing into the Shredder like a runaway missile. Shredder was thrown across the room and a fair distance away from Leo, Raph jumped in between them and snarled deep in his throat. Leo stood wide eyed in confusion, how the heck did his brother find him? Were the others here to? These questions whirled around in his head only to be over powered by the need to protect them and get them as far from Shredder as he could.

"You ok Leo?" Raph asked breaking Leo's train of thought.

"What are you doing here?" Leo asked subconsciously adding a hint of ice to his tone. Raph frowned, three and a half months with the Shredder had done little for Leo's social skills.

"Nice to see you to, in case you have not noticed we are here to bust you out and take you home." Raph said firmly.

"I told you, I no longer have a home with you." Leo snapped. Raph opened his mouth to say something only for Leo to backhand him out of the way. Raph was on his feet in a second, the attack lacked any kind of debilitating force so it did little to shake him, what he saw next however did. Leo locking blades with Shredder and actually countering his moves despite his condition, still Shredder had the edge of being healthy and whole and he used this to start forcing Leo back. This was interrupted by a battle cry of "BOOYAKASHA!" and a flying Michelangelo. The orange masked turtle swung in on his Kurusigama chain and planted a solid kick into Shredders ribs.

Shredder stumbled away from Leo and turned his attention to Mikey as he landed beside Raph, just as he rushed into attack hissing filled the air. Turning to the left Shredder came face to face with twelve feet of angry mutant snake being flung at him by Donatello. The purple masked turtle used his Bo staff to catapult Miwa through the air, giving her a prime strike from the air. Miwa twisted in mid-air and entangled Shredder in her coil baring her fangs at the tyrant.

"Karai! Stop this! I am your father!" Shredder commanded as he struggled against her.

"You are not my father and you never have been, you are nothing more than my jailor!" she hissed. With a violent twist she flung Shredder from her coils and across the room, she grunted in satisfaction when he landed with a thud.

"Leo!" Mikey cried exuberantly. He ran towards his black masked brother only to be stopped short by a pair of katana and a frigid stare.

"Leo, what are you doing? We are your brothers remember?" Donnie pleaded. Leo half turned and pointed one katana at Donnie, the other remained pointed at Mikey. Raph and Miwa had left to hold off Shredder and were doing a pretty good job of it to. They made a good tag team. Meanwhile the two youngest turtles tried to talk some sense into their older brother. Surprisingly it was Mikey who caught the nervous tension in his brother's stance, he was afraid of something. Taking a deep breath Mikey put his nunchucks away, he waited another brief second before darting under the blade that was pointed at him.

If Leo had been tough to beat before, he was even worse now. The instant Mikey moved to get into close Leo was leaping back and striking out with his swords. Only Donnie's long reaching blocks kept Mikey from being touched by the blades. Still Mikey did not stop, he pressed forward rolling away from a sword as it swept over his shell almost grazing it. Mikey growled, he'd had enough! He wanted his big brother back and wanted him now!

"Dude that's enough!" Mikey roared as he ducked and rolled under a strike, leaping to his feet he surged upwards into Leo's guard. Mikey reached out and by sheer luck wrapped his arms around his brother. Leo was stunned for a moment and Mikey used that moment to become a leech. Gripping Leo as tight as he could and burying his face into his shoulder.

"Let go of me!" Leo growled. His voice was cold, harsh, and biting like a winter wind. It was not the warm, comforting, soft voice that Mikey loved and it made him whimper and cling tighter.

"Come on Leo snap out of it! You're hurting Mikey! You're hurting all of us!" Donnie pleaded.

The pleading combined with Mikey's whimper had begun to cut through Leo's carefully constructed wall of defense. He had told himself that this was all to protect his family, to keep them from getting hurt. Now here they were, begging, pleading with him, and in Mikey's case close to tears, and he was adding salt to a large wound with his defense. Suddenly Raph was thrown back towards them, saved from a painful landing thanks to Miwa. Shredder, a tower of fury, appeared next to Leo looming over him and Mikey like a minion of death.

"Die!" he roared and raised his gauntlet to strike them both. Leo narrowed his deep blue eyes, his family was here because they were hurting and needed him back. Was he going to allow Shredder to harm them even further? Heck No! Throwing an arm over Mikey's shell Leo spun them out of the way coiling protectively around his baby brother. Shredder followed his downward stroke with a diagonal one that Leo dodged taking Mikey with him and snarling at Shredder.

"Leo?" Mikey asked in a timid voice. Leo glanced down at him then back to Shredder. Without taking his eyes off of his enemy he sheathed one sword and used his now free hand to remove Mikey in a gentle fashion. Donnie darted over and checked Mikey for injuries while Leo moved in front of them, his stance aggressive and daring Shredder to move. And move he did, towards Raph, the red masked turtle managed to dodge three strikes but the fourth landed a cut on his bicep causing him to cry out. Shredder moved to strike again sensing victory but a blur of black and green plowed into his side with the force of a runaway freight train.

Leo was relentless in his attacks, kicking, slicing, and stabbing at the Shredder who was barely holding him off. The oldest turtle had one thought in mind, protect his brothers. His body was on autopilot, flowing from one attack to the next until he realized they had the distance of half the room between them and his brothers. At that time Rahzar, Fish Face, and Tiger Claw came flying into the room landing in a groaning heap.

"Raph! You ok bud?" Slash asked as he burst into the room with Leatherhead who stood protectively over Mikey and Donnie. Miwa was checking the wound on Raph's arm.

"It isss not deep, but it will need ssstitchessss." She hissed gently. Raph smiled and thanked her.

"We're ok now, but we need to get Leo away from here asap!" Raph told Slash, "He is way too deep in his protective mode to really even think properly." Slash nodded and hurried over to where Leo and Shredder were fighting. A pain filled scream filled the room, Raph whipped around towards the sound and saw his big brother on the ground with a deep wound in his side. Slash bellowed angrily and advanced on Shredder, who was holding a small device in his hand. Raph saw Leo glance at the device and his blue eye's harden.

Leo leaped back to his feet and round house kicked Shredder with enough force that everyone heard the sound of breaking ribs through armor. Leo grabbed his swords and raced across the room.

"Run!" he roared, "Shredder is planning on blowing this place back the feudal ages!" Slash needed no encouragement and turned and ran, snagging Miwa on his way past. Leo flew by him and grabbed Mikey, throwing him over his shell as he ran. Leatherhead scooped up Raph and Donnie and ran for the exit, roaring as he went.

"Faster!" Leo ordered, to Mikey it sounded more like a plea. Twisting around he jumped off of Leo's back to run on his own, Leo positioned just behind him. They had barely made it outside when the building exploded in a fireball behind them. Slash quickly activated his teleporter, Leatherhead wrapped his body around the two middle turtles, and Leo slide tackled Mikey into an open manhole. They landed with a splash and a thud. Mikey groaned and pushed himself up and saw Leo doing the same.

"You ok bro?" he asked. Leo opened his mouth to responded, only for a deep rumble to fill the sewer. Leo suddenly seized Mikey by the arm and ran for all he was worth, behind them a massive fireball raced up the tunnel after them. Mikey pumped his legs as hard as he could, a secondary explosion shook the sewer. Dislodging chunks of concrete from the ceiling that rained down on them as they ran, a massive section of pipe above them groaned as it gave way and started to come down just as the fireball closed in. Mikey heard his name yelled before he was tackled from behind and his world disappeared into darkness, heat, and cold.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Mikey groaned loudly, the sound echoed off the sewer walls for a good minute. He almost groaned again as the echo was not helping his already pounding head. That and the unsteady rhythm in which he was moving did little to help either, not to mention make him nauseous. Mikey's blue eyes shot open, moving?! Since when did he start moving?! And for that matter how was he moving sideways?! His feet weren't even on the ground.

Glancing down he saw a pair of black clad, but still very familiar feet. The blood running down the left leg, limp in the right leg, plus heavy breathing and the caring but firm grip confirmed who was carrying him. Leo was carrying him across his shoulders. Mikey instantly felt guilty, he was being carried when Leo was the one who needed the support. Better yet, a stretcher. Determined to help his brother Mikey started to wriggle a bit to get loose.

"Don't move." Leo hissed as he came to a halt. His voice was raspy, tired, and pained.

"No way! You are not carrying me, I'm supposed to be supporting you right now! So are Donnie and Raph, hence the whole rescue operation which by the way kind of bombed." Mikey finished with a sheepish smile. Leo just gave him a look, "Ok, I so did not mean to include the bad pun, but it's true! No if you don't mind, put me down!"

"You're right shin is fractured and your hip was really close to being dislocated. Not to mention the burn you sustained on your left shoulder and smoke inhalation you suffered. All in all, You are not walking, end of discussion. " Leo said without looking at Mikey. He was acting weird, distant but desperate to be near his brothers. The older turtle set off again, limping a little harder.

"Dude, stop with act already. It's lame!" Mikey complained.

"I told you, I am not acting I no longer-".

"Leo I just want my big brother back!" Mikey exclaimed, he was near tears now, "Ever since you left things have gone down hill. Donnie has gotten moody, Master Splinter never leaves his room, April and Casey hardly ever stop by, I can't even prank anyone I'm so depressed, and Raph never goes topside anymore!" that stopped Leo with a lurch. He looked down and Mikey with wide eyes, "Yeah, it's true. Raph quit after a month of you being gone and that was the last time any of us acted normal." Mikey told him with a slight glare.

Leo turned his head and stared at the floor, Mikey felt his shoulders droop.

"Come on bro, we need you home now. You protected us really well, I even forgive you for the cut on my arm! But now we need you back home." Mikey begged. Leo remained silent but started walking again. Mikey sighed dejectedly and let himself hanf from Leo's shoulders.

"Hey," Leo's raspy voice said softly. Mikey looked up at him, "Keep talking." He said after a bit.

"Huh?" that was a new one for the orange masked turtle.

"Keep talking." Leo repeated softly.

"About what?" Mikey asked, for once he had no idea what to talk about.

"Anything." Leo replied. There was a subtle desperation in his voice. Mikey felt his eyes widen when it dawned on him, Leo was asking for companionship and he was so starved for it that he had been listening to his younger brothers ranting and whining!

"Umm….Ok, uh, let me see. Mmmmm….Oh I almost forgot! They played a rerun of Space Hero's!" Mikey said with a smile. Leo gave the tiniest of smiles and fell silent, content to listen to Mikey chatter, "And you won't Believe who sat with me and watched the Whole thing!"

"Hmm?"

"Raph!"

"…..Really?"

"Yeah! I couldn't believe it either and I was sitting right there next to him! If you find that hard to believe you'll never guess what he did next!" soon the sewers were filled with Mikey's chatter as his brother struggled to carry him. If the youngest had paid attention he would have noticed the direction they were headed in. Home.

After a while Mikey had finally tired out and fell asleep. Leo didn't blame him, he'd had one heck of a night. Sighing to himself the oldest turtle continued on in silence. It had been good to hear his brothers chatter again. Heck it was even good just seeing them! But he refused to stay, for all he knew Shredder had placed a tracker on him somewhere and he refused to let Shredder find the lair. Sure he was headed that way now but he planned on dropping Mikey off and then keep moving to ensure Shredder never found them.

Walking was getting harder and harder by the time Leo reached the lair. He was panting hard, his vision was getting fuzzy, and his body was on fire with pain. Slowly he eased his way through the turnstiles of the lair and down the stairs. He nearly collapsed down the stairs due to his broken right leg. Gently he set Mikey down on the couch, pulling a blanket over the youngest. He allowed himself a smile before struggling to his feet and turning to leave. He had not even heard the bickering between his brothers as they exited Donnie's lab, but he did hear the sharp intake of breath.

"Leo!" he whipped around at his name, crouched to defend. Raph and Donnie were staring at him in wide eyed disbelief. Leo slowly began to back away, he met their hopeful gaze and shook his head gently. Trying to tell them he could not stay. Raph went to take a step towards him, freezing when he saw something. Leo tenses, he's seen fear in Raph's eye's. He twisted around ready to defend his family, only to freeze himself as he came to face his Sensei. Splinter stared back, eye's wide with shock before they slowly hardened.

"Sensei." Leo breathed quietly. His own blue eye's wide with fear, he could feel his own body shaking in fear. He slowly started inching away from the tall rat. Splinter's eye's widened again at the whispered word, the hardness left his gaze.

"Leonardo." Splinter said softly, his tone fatherly but apprehensive. He reached out towards his wayward child.

Leo bolted, running for the sewers as fast as his abused body would allow. Fear giving him a brief second wind. He heard Splinter call out his name and give chase causing the young ninja to run even faster. Donnie and Raph moved, cutting their brother off from the stairs. Leo raced away from them seeking an alternative exit with Splinter still running after him, calling out to him. Finally Leo's body could hold up no more, in a white hot flare of pain his right leg gave out on him and Leo stumbled crying out in pain. He ever hit the floor, strong arms covered in bandaged wrappings and a warm Japanese rob wrapped around his shoulders.

Crying out in fear Leo began to struggle, yelling apologies and promises that he would never return and that he never meant to hurt his family. It tore his family apart inside to listen, but Splinter stayed strong and held onto his son. As Leo grew more frantic Splinter decided it was time to silence his sons fears before he hurt himself even more.

"Leonardo!" Splinter called out in a commanding tone, he spun his oldest around so that he was facing him. Leo froze and became mute, eye's glittering with terror, "Shhhh, it is alright. I will not, nor am I going to, hurt you and neither will your brothers." Splinter said in gentle tones. Leo still trembled in his hands. Splinter hated to see his child like this, but he could not stop a soft, proud smile.

"You have done nothing wrong Leonardo, you protected us well from the Shredder and made sure your brothers survived another confrontation with him. I could not be more pleased with you. Well done, my son." Splinter said softly. Those words caused Leo to shudder and suddenly become boneless in Splinter's grasp, carefully he sank to the floor with his oldest, gathering him in his lap. Leo's head and torso lay in his father's lap while the rest of him lay limp on the cement.

"Leo!" Raph cried. Mikey stirred in his sleep but remained mercifully sleeping. Raph fell to his knee's beside his brother and father hands outstretched and hovering, "Leo" the black covered turtle stirred and opened his eyes, half lidded in pain and exhaustion.

"Don't worry, we'll get you patched up and on your feet in no time." Raph said softly. He laid a tender hand on his brothers shoulder, nearly crying when Leo flinched under his hand. After a minute Leo collapsed again, his breathing shallow and rapid.

"Donatello! Go and prepare your lab, your brother needs treatment now!" Splinter barked. Donnie was gone in a flash, "Raphael, I know this will be hard for you, but I need you to stay with Michelangelo. He needs to be looked after as well and you will need your rest. You will have a long evening with Leonardo, I have a feeling that he will need you soon." Splinter said gathering Leo into his arms and heading for the infirmary. Raph merely nodded and went about caring for Mikey. He cleaned the burn and splinted his leg before settling down beside him.

"Hang just a little longer Leo, I promise I will help you get through this." Raph vowed as he lay down beside Mikey. As his eyes closed he heard a soft his and saw lavender scales drape over Mikey's shell. Soon, the soft hissing breaths of Miwa sleeping nearby lulled him to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay! Chapter 5! It's short but it is the only break I get before all encompassing FLUFF! ensues...I'm going to die writing that -_-'**

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**Chapter 5**

Raph had no idea how long he'd slept when a light tap on his shell started waking him from a very heavy sleep. Raph groaned, not really wanting to open his eyes.

"Raphael, you need to get up my Son." Splinter's voice whispered. That jerked the red masked turtle out of his sleep. The fact that Splinter had left the infirmary meant something was up with Leo.

"How's Leo? Is he ok? Did something go wrong?" Raph asked, anxiety building every second.

"Breathe my Son, Leonardo is stable as of right now. Donatello is resting and I must tend to Michelangelo, so I need you to go and keep an eye on your brother. If anything in his condition changes, you will wake Donatello and come find me immediately." Splinter instructed. Raph nodded, he glanced behind him wondering why Splinter had not asked about the ten foot purple armored snake when he noticed that she was gone. Oh well he would worry about that later, getting to his feet Raph made his way into the infirmary. He felt his breath hitch at the sight of Leo, lying on a cot hooked up to so many machines it made his head spin. The only one he really focused on was the one that showed him his big brothers heart-beat, it was a bit fast and his breathing was shallow but the oxygen mask was taking care of that. Raph shuffled over and pulled a chair up beside the bed. He sat there for a while in silence, the beeping machines providing white noise.

"You really know how to make us worry don't you?" Raph asked at last. He knew Leo was not going to respond, if he did Raph would have passed out, "First the technodrome going down, then getting caught by Karai when she was still working with Shredder, now this. I am surprised that I haven't had a heart attack yet." Raph mused. It was true, the oldest turtle was a well-known danger magnet. If it exploded, fired bullets, had a sharp edge, long fall, or was life threatening in some crazy fashion it would find Leo and then make his brothers panic. Donnie would go into Dr. mode, Mikey would be in the kitchen cooking normal food not his deadly concoctions, and Raph would be pacing outside the infirmary waiting for the diagnostic, it was a well-known routine. Now he was sticking the second part of the routine, the vigil. Usually if one of them had been hurt a brother, namely Leo, would sit beside the injured one all night. Unless Leo himself had been hurt in which case the vigil fell to Raph, Mikey and Donnie had tried but stress was taxing on them and they did not have the stamina possessed by the older two.

"Thanks for bringing Mikey home, me and Don were about ready to go after Shredder again when we noticed you two were gone again. Though how you two got crisped I would like to know, not to mention how you made it back here in your condition. You look awful bro, what did Shredder do to you?" Raph asked quietly. He reached out and tenderly rubbed Leo's left shoulder, mindful of the bandages surrounding it. Sighing, Raph scooted closer to the bed and rested his other arm on the bed and dropped his chin on it. He kept up the soothing motions as his eyes drooped. Stamina or no stamina the past twenty four hours would have dropped Splinter and the red masked turtle soon drifted off next to his brother.

An hour had past when Raph was jerked from his sleep, the shoulder under his hand was moving. A lot. Shaking his head he looked at Leo who was beginning to convulse in his sleep.

"Shell!" Raph hissed. He jumped to his feet to go and get Splinter, the second his hand left Leo's shoulder the older turtle's eyes flew open and he started thrashing. Raph froze as his brothers weakened body fought an enemy he could not see. Pleas in rapid Japanese spilled off Leo's tongue, Raph shook himself before darting back over to Leo and gripping his shoulders.

"Oniisan! Hasshu, Anata wa anzendesu, Oniisan." Raph said softly in japanese. The words had the desired effect, Leo's frantic motions slowed down and his shallow breathing slowed from its frenzied stated, "Watashi wa koko ni imasu." Raph murmured, never before had he been so grateful to have learned Japanese. He was not as fluent as Leo in the language, how his big brother made speaking sound like an art he would never know, but he was good enough that he could easily handle full conversations. Earlier he had discovered that the language also served as a calming mechanism for Leo when he was in a panicked state.

Slowly the taunt muscles in Leo's shoulders relaxed under Raph's hands, Leo fell into a healing slumber. Raph breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his eyes with one hand. Deciding that he'd better tell Splinter about what just happened he turned to leave again. Leo whimpered softly as Raph's hand left his shoulder, the red masked turtle froze and looked back at his brother. Leo had started freaking because he had stopped talking and started to leave! The realization hit him like a run away Leatherhead. Smiling a little Raph sat back down and started rubbing Leo's shoulder again.

"And to think that a few hours ago you were trying to leave again. Now you don't want to be alone. Something tells me that it was killing you to even think about leaving us again, well good luck trying to get away from us now Leo. We finally got you back and now we aren't letting you go. Things were way too miserable around here. "

"At first we just moped around, then we trained and started to try and track you. Then the whole roof top episode happened and we just kind of gave up. We went back to moping although this time it was worse, I am not going into details by the way just know that it was bad. We finally got a beat on you and that brought so life back to the lair. We met up with Slash and Leatherhead and you know the rest." Raph explained, figuring that telling Leo what happened would help him sleep, "Oh I almost forgot! Miwa came back, she helped us rescue you and now she is somewhere in the Lair. Though I have no idea where she is hiding." Raph grumbled.

"Right under your nossse." A teasing hiss from the back corner made Raph jump.

"Yeesh! I know the whole ninja snake mutant thing is really good for being stealthy but, give a guy a little warning next time!" Raph grumbled at Miwa as she slithered over. She laughed a bit before giving him a quick hug and slipping out the door saying that she was going to go say hello to her father.

"Boy is Sensei in for a surprise." Raph muttered. Leo mumbled something in his sleep then settled against Raph's arm, his breathing deepening just a bit, "Guess Sensei was right, you kind of did need me tonight. No offense bro but I am getting a little tired, I won't leave but I am going to close my eyes for a bit." Raph warned Leo. Yawing Raph settled down with his head pillowed on his arms, one hand gently holding Leo's bandaged one. Soon the two were sleeping peacefully, one knowing his brother was home the other just starting on the road to recovery.

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**Oniisan-** Big Brother.

**Hasshu-** Hush

**Anata wa anzendesu-** you are safe

**Watashi wa koko ni imasu- **I am here

**I could not help myself! I had to write Raph (and all of the turtles later on) speaking japanese! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello wonderful readers, here is an update (FINALLY!) for you :) I am sorry that it has taken this long. My old computer broke and I had to wait until a week ago to get a new one XD Hope you enjoy this and hopefully I will update again soon. **

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**Chapter 6**

Raph was once again dragged from a deep sleep. This time however it was not his sensei that woke him. A now human Miwa with green serpent eyes smiled at him as he blinked into awareness.

"Sorry to wake you. Just wanted to make sure he was alright and to say bye." She whispered. There was still a hissing lilt in her voice but it was nice.

"S'not a problem, and wait just a minute! You can't just leave, Shredder is still looking for you and in case you haven't noticed Sister you are family now. Family does not run away from each other, so go out there and give our father a hug before I kick you out of this room." Raph said in a soft but typically growly tone. Miwa blinked at him in shock before breaking into muffled giggles.

"Sounds like I'm stuck with you guys huh?" she asked after a minute.

"Yeah, including the nut ball in orange now shoo, Leo needs his sleep." Raph said motioning at her with one hand. The other still holding Leo's.

"Aw, you really are a softie under that tough shell aren't you?" Miwa cooed.

"Watch it, just because you're my sister does not mean I am above turning you into a belt." Raph growled but it lacked any heat. Miwa smiled at him before heading out of the infirmary. Raph smirked, he wished he could see the look on his sensei's face when Miwa showed herself. Sighing he rose to his feet and headed for the door. He opened it just in time to intercept the flying orange missile.

"Raph! Guess what? You are never going to believe this but guess what?!" Mikey squealed excitedly. He was now plastered to Raph's plastron, arms and legs wrapped tight around his brother.

"We finally decided to auction you off to the highest bidder?" Raph asked in a deadpan tone.

"Rude! And no, Miwa stayed and she says that she wants to live here!" Mikey crowed. Raph smirked and nodded.

"Mikey! I told you to stay on the couch!" Raph chuckled at the raised tone of his purple masked brother. That was his angry doctor tone and meant the youngest was in a heap of trouble when he was caught.

"Um, later dude! Give Leo a hug for me and tell him I'm glad he's home!" Mikey said letting go of Raph and snagging a pair of crutches from off the ground.

"You know that you aren't going to get far with those right?" Raph asked raising a brow at Mikey.

"Duh, if I use them the normal way Donnie would have me in seconds. Thankfully I came up with a solution." Mikey said nudging a skate board over with a crutch.

"Yep, a sure fire way to a quick death, Donnie is going to murder you. Slowly." Raph said stressing the word "slowly".

"He has to catch me first! See ya!" Mikey said with a trade mark smile as he sped off, using he crutches to gain momentum. A second later a purple blur raced by Raph, making his bandana tails flutter in the passing breeze.

"Mikey! When I get my hands on you I am going to murder you!" Donnie roared as he raced after his brother. Raph rolled his eyes and turned to head back into the room to restart his vigel, "Slowy! Over an open pit fire!" Raph leaned his head out with a question brow raised only to see Mikey whizz by screaming for help as the purple blur of death followed him.

"Keep the violence to a minimum please, Leo is trying to rest." Raph said before shutting the door. A loud scream followed by a shout of triumph let Raph know that Mikey had been caught and was now subject to Donnie's wrath.

"Well, Mikey brought that one on himself. He should have known better than to skate board on crutches with Donnie in the house and in full doctor mode. That guy is scarier than Shredder when he's in doctor mode." Raph said sitting down beside Leo. He kept up a steady flow of chit chat telling his comatose brother about everything that had been going on and how Miwa had decided to stay with the family. He had just wrapped up telling Leo about Mikey blowing up a pot of tea when Donnie came into the infirmary.

"How's he doing Raph?" Donnie asked softly.

"Better than last night, he started to freak out when I moved away for a bit. I spoke to him in Japanese and he calmed down. Been sleeping like a log ever since." Raph answered with a smile at Leo.

"He always has loved speaking Japanese, it would make sense that it would calm him down." Donnie mused as he began checking over Leo's many injuries and applying salves wraps to speed up the healing. Raph helped here and there but mostly he kept Donnie talking and held Leo's hand. He had a gut feeling that this would help Leo recover the fastest due to being away from them for so long.

"Well that's all I can do for now, he is doing better though. He's stable and finally getting the rest that he needs, all we really need him to do is wake up." Donnie said. Raph nodded in agreement. "Would you mind staying with him for a little bit longer? I need to make sure that Mikey is resting like he's supposed to then I will come and watch him for a few hours so that you can clean up, eat something, and snag a quick nap. We both know that you are going to be in here for the long haul so you might as well get ready for it." Donnie said with a smile. Raph gave him a grateful smile in return and nodded in agreement, Donnie sighed knowing he would find Mikey not where he was supposed to be but he was still smiling. Raph knew that smile was because they had Leo home. Finally, after months without him their big brother was home. Now they just had to help him heal.

The next few days ran like clockwork, really frustrating clockwork. Donnie had discovered older wounds on Leo from his time with Shredder that were seriously infected. These had led to long nights sponging down the oldest turtle to try and stave off the fever. Miwa had helped by changing into her snake form and resting her cool scales on Leo. Her sensitivity to body heat had been vital help in monitoring his fevers.

On top of that he'd started having nightmares. Leo would moa and cry out in fear in his sleep, pleading in Japanese for help. What really tore at everyone's hearts were the ones that left him so weak all he could do was beg for his family to be safe and that he was sorry.

During all of this Raphael had been on a fixed schedule. Nap, calm Leo down, check his fever, change his bandages, eat, shower, nap and repeat. Mikey, and Donnie took turns helping Raph, mostly letting him eat and refresh himself before he took over again. Miwa was taking care of patrols, running them close to the lair and keeping mostly to the sewers. Splinter often went with her as they were the only two who were capable of running off Shredder. All three of the younger Hamato brothers were running themselves into the ground to care for Leo.

Raph blearily stepped out of the shower. His body felt like lead, even during his naps he had not slept much do to worry for Leo. He trudged back towards were all three of his brothers currently resided. Donnie had finally passed out at his desk, relief evident on his sleeping features. Mikey was curled up in a chair beside Leo, one arm lying gently across Leo's torso while the other cushioned his head. The orange masked turtle raised his head when Raph entered the room.

"His fever broke, Donnie just gave him a full check-up and the infection is gone to. He just dosed Leo with some heavy antibiotics before he passed out at his desk." Mikey whispered. Raph gave him a tired smile before draping a blanket over Donnie and grabbing another that he wrapped around himself and Mikey. The two of them settled down next to Leo and soon drifted off to the soothing sound of Leo's steady breaths.

They had not been asleep long when a gentle clawed hand shook Raph into a dazed wakefulness.

"Wha'?" Raph slurred.

"Shh my son, everything is fine but you must get some sleep." The low voice of Splinter said as Raph was gently helped to his feet.

"I gta' watch o'vr Leo." Raph mumbled in protest as he was lead to the living room and laid in the couch. A blanket was tucked in around him and a hand patted his shell.

"I will watch over Leo while you all get some sleep." Splinter told him. Raph noticed that Miwa was busy fussing over how the blankets were tucked in around Mikey and Donnie before she settled down on the floor. She was in her snake form, her tail coiled around her as she settled down to watch over the three turtles. Raph hummed in content before drifting off into a blissful sleep. Leo would be safe with Splinter who was now speaking in Japanese to his oldest son and telling him how proud he was of him and that he was happy that Leo had returned to them.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: sorry for the late update, work, school, and college finals are cruel task masters! Hope you enjoy even though it is short! *************************************************************************************************************************************************

**Chapter 7**

The first thing he was aware of was the relief from the pain he'd been feeling for several days now. The second was how weak he felt, never in his fifteen years had he felt this helpless. Keeping his eyes shut Leo tried to moved his limbs, this brought on sharp aches that he did not want to feel. He did not even try to fight back a groan of pain.

"Leo?" a voice asked. Ok that was not something he had expected to hear for a long time, and if he did it would have been a lot angrier than that, "Leo, can you hear me Bro?" his original plan would have been to just lay there but the pleading tone in that voice was tugging at his heart and making his big brother instincts scream with need to reassure.

Struggling against the lead weights on his eye lids Leo forced his eyes to open just a little. Everything was blurred together in a mass of green and red, Leo forced himself to blink a couple of times to clear his vision. What he saw next nearly made his heart stop. Raphael's wide green eyes staring back at him with a mix of anxiety and hope. A grin started on the red masked turtles face when he noticed that Leo was staring back at him.

"Leo! Oh man you're awake!" Raph exclaimed. He was practically shaking with excitement.

"Wh-" Leo tried to respond but instead broke into a painful coughing fit. A strong arm eased his head and shoulders up a bit and a cup of blessedly cold water was held to his lips. Leo drank in grateful small sips, the water soothed his dry throat.

"Easy there big brother, you've been out of it for a couple of weeks now. Don't go pushing yourself." Raph chided gently, still smiling at Leo.

"Why?" Leo asked before he could stop himself.

"Huh? Why what?" Raph asked as he settled Leo back against a few pillows.

"Why are you helping me? I am foot clan now, remember?" Leo asked in a whisper. Raph stared at his brother, stunned. Was he really this shocked that they were helping him? That they wanted him back? Had he really believed that they hated him?

"What kind of idiot do you take me for Leo? We both know that you are about as far from being a foot clan member or even loyal to the shredder as Mikey is from becoming the next president of the USA." Raph said sitting next to Leo's bed. He had hoped this would get his big brother to smile but Leo still looked confused and depressed.

"Look Leo, I'll admit that you had us fooled at first. I never knew you were such a good actor considering you can't lie to save your life. Then again that might be why you were able to pull this off for so long. It was not your life you were saving, it was us. It took us a while to realize it but you were just doing what you always do. Protect us no matter what. "

"Well you did a good job, we all got out alive. But there was just one thing missing, and that was you. There was no one for me to try and beat during a spar, no one to drag Donnie's shell to bed at two in the morning, and no who was willing to try and train Mikey by holding his comics hostage. What I am trying to say is that you've done your part, you kept us safe. Now let us do ours to help you heal." Raph said laying a hand on Leo's shoulder.

The elder turtle let a few silent tears slip down his cheeks, how could Raph be saying that? They should hate him! He had turned his back on them, on their sensei, their family, he'd even attacked and wounded Mikey! They should be leaving his body in some abandoned sewer tunnel but no, they were taking care of him. Ecstatic that he was home, Leo just did not get it. It must have showed on his face because the next thing he knew he was being wrapped in a strong yet gentle hug by his red masked brother.

"Stop beating yourself up Leo, yeah I know you were doing that because I know you. No matter what happens, you are still our big brother." Raph said softly. Leo was stiff at first but after hearing those words he went slack in his brothers hold, leaning into the comforting embrace.

"Feel better?" Raph asked, he felt Leo nod, "Good, now just sit tight for a second. I need to go get Donnie and Master Splinter, they would want to know that you are up and give you a checkup." Raph said pulling back. Leo nodded in acceptance and gave Raph a small, tired smile. Raph grinned back then raced off to tell his brother and father.

"Donnie! Master Splinter!" Raph yelled as he raced into the dojo. Donnie was going over some new Bo techniques with the rat master while Miwa kept Mikey off his leg and entertained.

"Raphael, what is the matter?" Splinter asked halting the lesson.

"It's Leo! He woke up!" Raph exclaimed, practically bouncing on spot with excitement. Donnie and Master Splinter stood frozen for a second before racing out of the dojo with Raph. They quickly reigned in their excitement once outside the door to the infirmary before stepping inside. Still propped up on his pillows lay Leo, who greeted his family with a shy smile. Suddenly a purple blur attached itself to Leo, still being mindful of his injuries but determined not to let go.

"Don't you ever do something like that to us again!" Donnie growled around tears, his face buried in Leo's shoulder. Leo leaned his head against Donnie's and patted his arm in promise, "Good, because if you do I will personally drug you then lock you up in a nice padded cell where I know you won't get hurt." Raph chuckled at the threat from his younger brother while Leo rolled his eyes good naturedly. Splinter walked up to stand beside his oldest, Leo looked up at him with trepidation and swallowed heavily. Splinter smiled warmly before wrapping his oldest in a tender embrace while Donnie left long enough to get new bandages for Leo, Raph followed his younger brother.

"Welcome home my son, I am so very proud of you." Splinter said stroking Leo's damaged shell. Feeling the cracks and ridges from training with the Shredder, "Know that I am not angry with you, I understand what you did and I forgive your actions. Now we must focus on making you whole again, and know that for a while I am not letting out of my sight." Splinter said with a pointed look at Leo who raised a questioning brow at his father, "I just got my oldest son back, you think I am just going to relax that easily? Not likely my son." Splinter chuckled and hugged Leo to his chest again. Leo smiled and leaned into his father's embrace, sighing with content, part of him still felt like they should be mad at him but he was starting to ignore that.

"Ok Leo, time to change your bandages. After that its back to bed with you, if you sleep well tonight we might be able to move you back to your own room." Donnie said as he started unwrapping the old bandages. All four were happy to see that the wounds were healing nicely with no new infections.

Fifteen minutes and several more hugs later Leo was swathed in new bandages. Splinter had also helped to wipe him down with warm water, making him feel clean for the first time in a long time. Donnie and Splinter left the room after bidding Leo a goodnight and promising to bring in Mikey and Miwa tomorrow. Raph was the last to leave, he was going to make sure that Leo was sleeping well before he left. Leo smiled sleepily at his brother before drifting off. In a matter of minutes the oldest was sleeping peacefully and deeply. Raph smiled before standing up and leaving his brother to rest. He after all had some work to get done, more specifically setting up Leo's room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello wonderful readers. I am very sorry for not updating. College and three jobs is not easy to keep up with. Still I will try and be more frequent with the updates. Sorry for the short chapter, it's all I had time for. Hope you enjoy! And be warned, in the next chapter Raph and Mikey might go just a little over board but can you really blame them**

**Chapter 8**

Raph was keenly aware of baby blue eyes following his every move with heavy suspicion. At least every move he made with in their line of sight since they were confined to the couch. Still, it did little to irritate him as he trotted back and forth from the kitchen to down the hall with various cleaning supplies.

Mikey continued to watch as his red masked older brother trotted into the kitchen, only to return with Windex and three rolls of paper towels and disappear down the hall. Thirty seconds later Raph returned to the kitchen and came out with a broom and dust pan then went back down the hall. He returned to the kitchen again and came out with a mop, a mop bucket with warm water and soap, and a thing of..mint Listerine? Ok weird….Once again Raph dove into the kitchen and came out with a vacuum.

"Mikey, what iss wrong?" Miwa asked slithering over. She had a concerned look in her emerald eyes.

"Somethings wrong with Raph." Mikey said slowly still starring over the couch. Only his eyes and the top of his head were visible.

"Are you ssssure? What issss wrong?" Miwa asked this time she sounded a little panicked.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy there, he's not dying. I just think he's been hypnotized or something." Mikey explained. Miwa arched a silver brow in confusion, "Ok, I've known Raph my whole life and not once. Not Once! Have I seen him look this happy while getting the cleaning supplies. Not to mention he's grabbed enough to clean the sewer tunnels with." Mikey told her as they watched Raph go into the kitchen and come out with cleaning clothes.

"Alright that's it. I'm getting to the bottom of this!" Mikey declared. Only to be stopped by silver and lavender coils wrapping around his middle.

"No, you are going to sstay here. I will go and ask Father and ssee if he might know ssomething about thiss." Miwa said firmly but gently. Mikey huffed and fold his arms over his plastron. Miwa hissed a laugh before slithering off. As soon as she was gone Mikey hopped into action. His skate board as nearby so he grabbed it and swung it over the back of the couch. With that done he levered his body over the back of the couch and laid down on his board. Keeping his legs up in the air Mikey used his hands and rolled himself quietly down the hall, following the smell of Windex.

He'd made it all the way down the hall when he reached the source of the smell. Leo's room. Mikey shivered at the thought of his oldest brother and the state he was in. Shaking his head to clear out the morbid thoughts Mikey poked his head around the corner and for a second wondered if he was stuck in another dimension.

There was Raph, smiling and dusting! The grumpiest out of the four of them was standing there with a happy, relaxed smile on his face and wiping down Leo's shelves. Mikey also noticed that he was not leaving a single speck of dust. Now he was sure he was in a different dimension. He was so engrossed in his whirling thoughts he failed to see Raph turn and spot him in the doorway.

"Mikey!" Raph exclaimed jumping slightly.

"Totally awesome display of Ninja awareness bro, and what is with you going all Mary Poppin's all of a sudden?" Mikey asked from his position at the bottom of the door frame.

"Oh! That! Sorry I should have told you sooner bu- Hold up. You are supposed to be couch bound, how the heck did you get all the way down here? Raph asked giving Mikey a suspicious look.

"Dude! You can not just stop an explanation and as a question! Back the explaining, pronto!" Mikey said jabbing a finger at his brother. The jerky motion caused him to roll back wards a bit. Raph gave him a look and then stepped outside of the room to see his little brothers mode of transportation.

"You do realize that Donnie is going to burn your board when he finds out about this?" Raph asked. Mikey glared at him and drummed his fingers irritably.

"Alright! Ok, so the reason I'm cleaning Leo's room is because he woke up and Donnie said that if he sleeps fine tonight he can be moved to his room tomorrow!" Raph explained with a grin. The only words Mikey heard were "Leo woke up."

"He's awake! Dude that is amazing! Sorry about being suspicious, now I need to go hug my bro!" Mikey took off down the hallway.

"Whoa! Hang on Speed Racer!" Raph laughed, snagging Mikey by his uninjured leg, "He fell asleep just a couple of minutes ago, its better to let him sleep for now." Mikey looked back at him with big puppy dog eyes, Raph in turn rolled his fondly, "Tell you what, while we wait for him to wake back up you help me clean? Donnie is pretty worried about his immune system and says a clean room will help with that. Mikey instantly brightened and let Raph drag him back into the room. He was so excited he felt like he was going to vibrate right out of his shell! Looking around the room he noticed the dust build up was so think you could write in it. Glaring at the dust gathered on the baseboards Mikey snagged some damp cloths and got to work. By the time he was done in here any speck of dust present would be running in fear of him should it try and enter his big brothers room! He didn't care if they started talking or not!


End file.
